A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
A simple way to measure
customer satisfaction
let your customers tell you what you should ask them
so you can improve what matters most
by Stacey Barr
introduction
Most people in business know they need feedback from customers in order to make
service delivery and product design more in line with customer needs and
expectations. But too often, the process of measuring customer satisfaction and
perception is more complex and convoluted than it needs to be. Here is a simple
approach that gives you punchy customer feedback, without overloading the customer
with a thousand and one questions.
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A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
the steps in measuring and managing customer satisfaction
The following sections outline a sound and simple approach for measuring and
managing customer satisfaction:
1. know who your customers are;
2. understand your customers’ needs;
3. measure your customer service performance;
4. focus on priorities;
5. improve your processes.
Know who your customers are
Purpose
to set a context in which you can produce reliable and useful measures
of service performance
Process
1. identify all your current customers
2. gather all the relevant information you have to describe the
relationship of each customer to your business (eg how much
business they give you, where they are located, what industry they
are in, etc...)
3. use this information to define market segments that group similar
customers together
Outcomes
• a clear segmentation of your customer base
• a ‘customer frame’ or list of customers from which to select a
representative sample (or census) for research
Understand your customers’ needs
Purpose
to determine how customers define ‘quality of service’ and therefore
what you should be measuring to monitor your quality of service
Process
1. enlist the help of qualified researchers (to ensure reliability and
validity of the information obtained)
Page 2 of 6
© Stacey Barr
A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
2. choose an appropriate1 method for exploring what customers feel
are the most important attributes of the type of service you provide
to them
3. select a small number of customers from each market segment and
invite them to participate in this research
4. carry out the research using qualified researchers to maintain
objectivity and validity
5. summarise the research results to identify the most important
attributes of service
Outcomes
• a list of approximately 10 key service attributes (which together
constitute how customers define quality of service)
Measure your customer service performance
Purpose
to determine what are the priority areas you need to focus on to
improve your quality of service (and therefore business performance)
Process
1. enlist the help of qualified researchers (to ensure reliability and
validity of the measures)
2. choose an appropriate method for obtaining measures from your
customers (eg telephone interviews, face to face interviews, selfcompletion questionnaires, etc...)
3. decide on any supplementary information that you might need from
customers to interpret their satisfaction (eg industry, geographical
location, size)
4. design a ‘measurement instrument’ (eg a survey questionnaire, a
list of questions, rating scales)
5. select a sample (or census) of customers from the ‘customer frame’
(qualified researchers have special methods for doing this so that
the sample is large enough to be reliable and random enough to be
representative)
6. carry out the research using qualified researchers to maintain
objectivity and validity
7. summarise the research results to construct measures of service
performance
1
‘appropriate’ is determined by customer characteristics, the nature of the service you provide, your relationship with
your customers and your resource limitations.
Page 3 of 6
© Stacey Barr
A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
Outcomes
• overall satisfaction with service, for example:
Overall Customer Satisfaction
high 6
5
4
3
2
low 1
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
• knowledge of the relative importance of each key service attribute
(ie what matters most to our customers)
• knowledge of the degree of satisfaction customers have with each
key service attribute
• knowledge of the current priorities for improvement of customer
service performance, for example by plotting each attribute of
service on a performance quadrant chart like this one:
• additional information about the diversity among customers from
the supplementary information such as demographics or general
comments
Page 4 of 6
© Stacey Barr
A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
Focus on priorities
Purpose
to avoid wasting valuable resources on “oiling every wheel that
squeaks”, and instead focus those resources on improvements and
changes that will generate the greatest improvement in overall
customer satisfaction
Process
1. put your attention on the red quadrant (the lower right hand box in
the graph)
2. follow up with customers, if necessary, to get a deeper insight into
how these red quadrant attributes might best be improved
Outcomes
• clear direction for improvement
Improve your processes
Purpose
to translate the customer satisfaction priorities into action that results in
future increases in customer satisfaction
Process
1. identify which of your core processes impact on the customer
satisfaction priorities
2. establish improvement teams to map and analyse those processes
to find out specifically where to make improvements
3. allocate resources to the chosen improvements and establish a team
to make those improvements
4. monitor the effectiveness of the improvements (eg using
performance measures as lead indicators of customer satisfaction)
Outcomes
• processes that are better aligned to serving customers
• increased customer satisfaction
and so...
This five phase approach to measuring and managing customer satisfaction is simple
and sound. Research is used to gather objective information without being overly
scientific. The framework focuses on prioritising, which is critical in a complex business
environment. The information comes directly from your customers.
The results will directly impact your customers’ satisfaction as well as supporting:
• business plans to align goals and objectives with customers;
• performance measurement through identifying which non-financial performance
outcomes are worth tracking;
Page 5 of 6
© Stacey Barr
A simple way to measure customer satisfaction
Stacey Barr Pty Ltd
the Performance Measure Specialist
ABN 57 129 953 635
PO Box 422 Samford
Queensland 4520 Australia
Mobile: 0408 883 458
staceybarr@staceybarr.com
www.staceybarr.com
• employee relations (or human resource) plans to help guide the customer focus of
employees;
• marketing plans to retain existing customers and identify opportunities for new
customers.
about the author
Stacey Barr is a specialist in performance measurement, helping
people to move their business or organisation’s performance from
where it is, to where they want it to be.
Sign up for Stacey’s free email newsletter at www.staceybarr.com to
receive your complimentary copy of
her e-book “202 Tips for Performance Measurement”.
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© Stacey Barr